Pictures of the Past
by ilovemark
Summary: Remus finds a photo album and shows it to Harry. He looks back on the fun times he had with the marauders.


_A/N: This is a little fluffy one shot. It was posted on kckfchicks, but I decided to post it here instead. Go figure. Enjoy!_

**Pictures of the Past**

**By Kirsten**

**Based on Books 1-5 by J.K. Rowling__**

Remus Lupin was looking through Sirius's attic, but what for he didn't know. Sirius had been dead for a while now, though the shock of it was still fresh. Days at Number 12, Grimmauld Place weren't quite the same without his presence, but everyone was doing their best to cope.

Remus thought that the worst part of having to return to Sirius's house was the fact that Kreacher was still there. He had betrayed Sirius and it had certainly led to his death. But the Order couldn't give the wretched house elf clothes—he knew too much. At times, Remus almost wanted to strangle Kreacher for what he had done—and that was saying a lot for Remus's personality.

But Sirius was dead and gone, and Remus had to learn to accept it. But then why was he in Sirius's attic? Remus told himself that it was because nobody had gotten around to cleaning it out yet, but really, he was looking for Sirius. There was no other explanation; he wanted to find all of his best friends again.

Remus approached a dusty, old, bookshelf and began to look through the tattered volumes. One book in particular caught his eye. It was a photo album, and Remus instantly recognized it. He, himself, had given it to Sirius directly after Lily and James's death—before Sirius had gone hunting Peter, before Sirius was thrown into Azkaban, and before he realized that Sirius might have had something to do with his friends' death. He brought the book close to him, and opened the cover. There, a picture of Lily, James, Sirius, Peter, and himself were smiling up at him, waving energetically.

Before the tears started, Remus slammed the book shut. He took a deep breath, and clutched the book tightly against his chest. _Harry should see this too, _Remus thought to himself. And maybe if someone else was in the room he could keep himself under control.

Still holding the book, Remus made his way downstairs. "Harry!" He called, approaching Harry and Ron's bedroom door. He knocked timidly.

"Come in, Professor." Hermione's voice replied from behind the door. Remus pushed open the door, and entered. Harry was on the floor with Ron, playing wizards' chess, while Hermione sat on one of the beds reading one of the books Remus and Sirius had given Harry last Christmas.

"I found something you all might like to see," Remus said, walking over to the bed opposite Hermione and sat down. "You, especially, Harry. It's a photo album… of your parents and Sirius."

Harry looked up at Remus, and Remus smiled softly. "Can I have a look?" He asked Remus nonchalantly, trying to conceal his excitement from his friends.

"Of course." Remus answered, passing the book to Harry.

Harry scooted back, so he could lean against the side of the bed, and opened the cover. Ron pushed himself back, to sit next to Harry, and Hermione looked over at them with interest.

"I don't think I've ever seen a picture of your parents." Ron told Harry, while Harry looked at the first picture with a smile on his face.

"That's them, there." Harry whispered, pointing at Lily and James. Hermione, unable to stand the curiosity any longer, got up and sat down on Harry's other side.

"That was taken just before the end of seventh year. It was our last trip to Hogsmeade." Remus said, speaking almost as softly as Harry. "James had to sneak there under your invisibility cloak, because he wasn't supposed to go—he skipped a dentention."

"Your dad looks just like you, Harry." Hermione noted.

"So I've been told." Harry said with a small smile. He turned the page, and looking over his shoulder, Remus saw a picture of James standing next to Remus and Lily. All three of them were dressed in black.

"What's this?" Harry asked.

"Your grandmother's funeral—James's mum." Remus answered. He remembered that day so clearly…

_Lily didn't want to listen to what the pastor in front of them was saying. She glanced at James, and he was staring straight ahead, oblivious to everything around him. Lily slipped her arm around him, and James looked for a moment like he was trying not to cry. Lily looked down at the grass, and closed her eyes._

_It would have been a beautiful day, were they not there for the burial of James's mother. The cemetery was quiet and still, everyone's heads were bowed. The coffin had already been lowered, and now they were starting to shovel dirt over it._

_"You alright, Lil?" Sirius whispered into her ear, as he touched her hand._

_"Yeah," She answered, holding his hand tightly. "Yeah, I'll be fine." She looked at him, and he smiled. She saw that his eyes were wet, and he nodded gently, as though to say he would be okay too. _

_When the ceremony had ended, James left right away. Sirius made to go after him, but Lily stopped him. "Give him a minute." She said, watching her fiancé walk quickly away from all the faceless people there. She looked at Remus, who sighed. She hugged him, and tears started to come to her eyes._

_"I don't even know why I'm upset." Lily said through tears. "I barely knew her—less than three days!"_

_"It doesn't matter." Remus said, letting her cry on his shoulder._

_"I guess… my own mother hated me. I wanted so badly to have Mrs. Potter love me. Someone who would be my family—who would love me no matter what…" Lily continued, getting a hold of herself, wiping the tears off her cheeks._

_"You have that, already, Lily." Remus said, looking at her meaningfully._

_"James?"_

_"Who else?" He smiled. "Go find him—he'll need you right now." Lily nodded, and she jogged after James. _

_She found him in a grove of trees. He was walking very slowly, occasionally looking down at the gravestones mounted in the grass._

_"Hey," Lily said softly. James looked up at her with sad eyes, and Lily went to him. They held each other for a long time, not saying anything. Lily could feel James crying quietly into her hair, and she didn't move. James was the weakest she'd ever seen him, but she wasn't going to move—ever._

Harry turned the page, to see a new photo. Lily, James, Sirius, and Belle were running over a grassy hill, smiling, and looking back at the camera, beckoning it to come faster. Remus remembered that he had taken this picture a month or two after the funeral.

"Where are they?" Harry asked, looking up a Remus.

"We're at a park… I don't remember where." He answered, looking carefully at the picture. "I think it was in June… almost a year before you were born."

Remus smiled, remembering that day. They had grabbed a picnic lunch, like the muggles do, and trekked out to the closest park. It had been such a perfect day…

_Sirius led the way to the shady tree grove at a run, shouting for everyone to hurry up. Lily jumped on James's back, and piggybacked, they went after Sirius, laughing all the way. Remus, Belle, and Peter brought up the rear, carrying a big, checkered blanket and the picnic basket. _

_When they reached the trees, Sirius collapsed on the ground, out of breath. James plopped down next to him, and Lily rolled off his back, laughing wildly. _

_"You guys are going to kill yourselves, running like that." Belle said with a chuckle, as she spread the blanket over the emerald green grass. Lily didn't get up right away, for the sweet June air was blowing lightly, and the setting sunlight winked through the tree branches, making this the most peaceful spot ever. _

_Remus opened the picnic basket, and Sirius was sitting right next to it, waiting for the first taste of the homemade sandwiches that Lily and Belle had thrown together ten minutes after Sirius announced that he wanted to go on a picnic._

_Lily loved the randomness of the whole idea, and the simple pleasures of eating outside beneath a shady tree. Lily leaned against James, and passed a sandwich to him. _

_Everyone was talking and laughing, and everything felt so perfect. Lily looked over at Belle, and saw with glee that she and Sirius were holding hands and joking with each other. Lily wondered to herself whether there would be a new soon-to-be-married couple in their circle of friends._

_Sirius pulled a deck of cards out of his pocket, and looked at the group, smiling. "Anyone up for Strip Snap?"_

Turning the page, Harry smiled down at a familiar picture. "I have this one. Hagrid gave it to me." He said, for the picture was of Lily, James, and Sirius laughing at the Potters' wedding.

"Your mother looks so beautiful…" Hermione said softly.

Harry nodded, and turned the page again. This one Remus recognized as Lily's birthday celebration. Though by this time Voldemort was searching for the Potter family, James had refused to let their constant traveling get in the way of Lily's 21st birthday.

_"Smile, Lily!" Remus said, as he took the picture._

_Lily blew out the candles on the cake that James, Remus, and Sirius had tried their best to bake. Belle brought a knife and paper plates out of a grocery bag, and set them out on the coffee table. Lily didn't even care that she and James were living in a hotel room, in hiding from Voldemort, this was a great birthday._

_"I'm afraid to taste this cake." Belle said, cutting the cake down the middle._

_"I'm not, I think its sweet." Lily said, smiling as James kissed her cheek and sat down next to her. Sirius whipped out his wand, and made party hats appear. He grabbed one, and stretched it over Lily's head, and took two for himself._

_Just as Belle was serving the cake, there was a knock on the door. _

_"Hell no, not tonight." James muttered angrily, as he got up to see who was at the door._

_"Who is it?" Lily asked him. Belle and Remus exchanged worried glances. Lily's heart was starting to pound—Voldemort didn't find them, did he?_

_"It's just the bell-boy." James said, pulling open the door._

_"We've gotten some complaints from next door." The boy said, looking in the room. "We don't allow parties in this hotel." He added, eyeing the plates of cake and the party hats._

_"Would you like a piece?" Sirius asked, shoveling a big bite of cake into his mouth. "Iffs delicifous." _

_"No." Suddenly, the boy transformed into a tall man in a black cloak, wielding a wand. James stepped backwards in surprise, and pulled his wand out of his pants pocket._

_"What are you doing here?" Lily asked from the couch, as she pulled out her own wand, and ripped the hat off her head._

_"Guess." He said rudely. "Potter, if you come with me quietly, there will be no need for violence."_

_"Come with you, my ass." James snapped, slamming the door in the man's face. "Come on, Lily, we have to get out of here… now." He pulled out the bag of floo powder that he always kept with him, and threw it into the fireplace, as Lily magically made a fire appear in the grate._

_"Everyone in…" Sirius said, as the doorknob started to rattle in the man's frustration to get inside. The fit was tight, but everyone managed, when Lily cast an expanding charm._

_"Diagon Alley." Remus said clearly. And Lily could just make out the man bursting through the door, as a whirr of fire grates began to fly past her. She felt James grabbing her hand, and she began to feel slightly less dizzy. They landed in the Leaky Cauldron with a smack. Lily's knees buckled, but James kept her standing._

_"We left all of our stuff, James." Lily told him. "We'll have to go back and get it…"_

_"But we can wait until its safe." He said. "I'm sorry… this wasn't supposed to happen on your birthday."_

_"It wasn't your fault." She said, embracing her husband. "We're all together, and we're safe… that's all that matters to me."_

_"That was too close." Remus said, dusting the fireplace ashes off of his pants. "You guys have to start being more careful."_

_"Yeah… we do." Lily said. "Come on, let's go get some ice cream, or something."_

"It sounds pretty exciting." Ron said, after Remus explained what happened on Lily's birthday.

"That happened a lot to them," Remus said. "They did a lot of running around, before the Fidelius Charm was cast. They stayed in hotels all the time… I remember once they couldn't find a room, so they just camped out _outside_ the hotel."

Harry laughed, and turned the page again. Here, Lily and James were standing side by side. James had his hand on Lily's stomach, and she was smiling.

"Is that…?"

"That was when Lily was pregnant with you." Remus nodded.

_"He kicked!" Lily said excitedly. James put his hand over her stomach, and didn't move. "There—he did it again! Did you feel it?"_

_"Wow…" James breathed._

_"He kicks a lot, now…" Lily told Remus, who smiled. "He's anxious."_

_"Won't be too long now." Sirius said, putting his hand on Lily stomach as well, feeling for the baby's movement. "Ha! I felt it!"_

_"The doctors say he's due in July." James said proudly._

_"We'll be parents, James." Lily said, turning to James. She put both hands over her stomach and closed her eyes. She could hardly wait to hold their baby in her arms. _

_"Thought of any names yet?" Remus asked._

_"I vote you name him Sirius." Sirius chimed._

_"They aren't going to name him Sirius." Remus said with a laugh._

_"And why not? I would be insulted if they didn't—I am the godfather, after all." Sirius said arrogantly._

_"You always have to bring that in, don't you?" Remus retorted. _

_"You're just jealous that you didn't think to call it."_

_"You called it on their wedding day, you idiot."_

_"How was I supposed to know when the kid was going to be born? Thought I'd call it first chance I got, just to be sure." Sirius said, holding his head high. _

_"Will you two shut up?!"_

"Aw! Harry, this must be you as a baby!" Hermione cooed, pointing at the next picture.

"No, Hermione, that's Dudley." Ron said sarcastically. "Can't you see how fat he is?"

"Thanks, Ron. I'm glad you think I was a fat baby." Harry said, raising his eyebrows.

"No, mate, you're not _fat_… just tubby." Ron teased.

But Remus could see that Harry was happy to see a picture of him _with _his parents. Harry had seen pictures of his parents before, but he'd never seen a picture of himself with them. How could he see them as his family, if he had never seen himself with them?

_Lily looked down at her baby boy, and smiled, eyes twinkling so brightly, they rivaled Dumbledore's. James was standing behind her, his arms around her, hugging her. This was the family that she had wanted all her life. James kissed her, and she felt like everything in her life was coming together._

The final picture in the book was of Lily and James, with their backs to the camera. Remus saw the longing in Harry's eyes, and it hurt him to think that Lily and James were killed less than a month after Sirius had taken this picture.

"When was this?" Harry asked, looking up at Remus.

"I don't know… Sirius took it. One of the best pictures of them, I think."

_"I love you, James." Lily whispered, as she and James looked at the sunset before them. _

_"Love you, Lil." He answered, kissing the top of her head. "I don't know what I would do without you or Harry."_

_"Same." Lily smiled, closing her eyes, and she closed her eyes. The sunlight filtered red through her eyelids, and she sighed deeply. She looked up at James, and the light was reflecting off his glasses. Her life was practically perfect… and all because of James. He and Harry were the lights of her life. They made her days fly by, and she looked forward to waking up each morning because of them._

_Even with the evil Lord Voldemort constantly after them, she could face him bravely as long as James was with her._

"Your parents were amazing people, Harry." Remus said, taking the book back from Harry.

"I just wish I could have known them." He said quietly. Remus looked at the photo album again.

"Keep it." He said.

"It's yours…"

"It was Sirius's, and I want you to have it." Remus said. "You can add the pictures to the book Hagrid gave you."

"Go on, Harry, take it." Ron nudged Harry, for he wasn't moving. Finally, Harry lifted it out of Remus's hands.

"Thanks, Remus." Harry replied.

"It's nothing, Harry." Remus said, getting up from the bed and making his way to the door. He left without another word, and started downstairs. James, Lily and Sirius may be dead, but they weren't gone. They would always be alive in Remus's memories—regardless of what happened. If only he could have said goodbye…

The End


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